Sunday, December 7th
Our Asia Air flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket was very early Sunday morning. When I bought the tickets, I purchased breakfast for an additional $2 each. They served us some delicious pancakes. We definitely got some looks from other passengers. You can't buy food once you get on the plane; you have to purchase it ahead of time. Since the flight was so early, no shops were open in the airport. There were at least 300 people waiting for their flights and there were no stores or restaurants open before our flights left. What were they thinking?!
Any who, off of my pregnant food rant...
We landed in Phuket and grabbed a taxi down to Amari Phuket. It was an hour ride from the airport to Patong beach. Strange to think that an it can take so long to get around an island.
We were pleasantly surprised by the looks of our hotel. It was up high, and still slightly secluded from the busy Patong beach crowd.
Patong beach was hit hard by the tsunami in December of 2004. I didn't want to be at a hotel that could possibly be affected JUST in case it happened again.
A view from our lunch spot at our hotel.
We got checked in and decided to wander around the hotel. It seemed more humid on the water than we were both expecting.
We decided to put our suits on and just lounge by the pool. That's what you're supposed to do on a baby moon, right?
That night we walked into town to grab some MORE Thai food. We never did get tired of it while we were there. It's SO good! It's making me hungry thinking about it.
Tom Kah Gai
Massaman curry.
It has a muslim influence, and has a lot of peanuts. It was SO good. It was like peanut butter curry. Oh, it's making me so hungry.
Monday, December 8th
I literally didn't take a single photo on Monday. We relaxed poolside, and took it easy. The way it should be!
Tuesday, December 9th
I had two boat rides planned while we were down in southern Thailand. The first was a trip to Phang Nga Bay via slow boat.
The 15 passenger van arrived at 6am to take us to our boat on the other side of the island. We were the last tourists to get picked up. When I looked in the van there were only two seats left and they were all the way at the back of the van. That normally wouldn't be an issue, but being pregnant made it slightly awkward. Not one person was willing to move.
For an hour, Nick and I sat straight up practically leaning over the seats in front of us. The back row was up slightly higher, and the seats didn't recline like the other seats in the van. With my back pressed against the back of my seat, I could touch the seat in front of me with my elbow. That is how close the seats were at the back of the van. It was the longest, bumpiest ride of my life. I was SO happy to be out of that van!!!
When we arrived the crew welcomed us onboard. They had food and drinks ready for us. Thank goodness!
We took off toward the north as the sun was rising.
Happy to be out of that van, and on a boat!
We went to the front of the boat to get a good view. One of the crew members told us to reenact the Titanic scene. Done and done.
It really was pretty breathtaking to see this in the early morning without a thousand boats around.
Our first stop, we got off the boat and onto tiny inflatable canoes. Each canoe had a couple and a tour guide paddling in the back. We were paddled over to a tiny cave entrance and told to lay down. The cave turned out to be a tunnel. We could practically scrape our noses on the roof of the cave it was so low. At the end, we found this beautiful opening.
The water was very shallow.
This funny fish can climb trees and crawl on land. Funny looking guy! I don't know how our tour guide spotted him. He was so small!
Just outside the cave we spotted some baby monkeys jumping around.
We got back on the main boat to head to our second island.
We were back in our canoe in about 20 minutes. It was rather uncomfortable sitting straight up in the canoe, and laying down you couldn't see much. I think our canoe guide finally realized I was getting uncomfortable and just told me to turn and hang my feet out of the water. Ahhh...so much better! I had back support and I got to cool off!
Our group was through a canyon to view some unique rocks. This one they called the piranha because of its shape.
This rock was famous but I don't remember why! Haha!
We got to ride through some pretty sweet caves again.
Looking back at the first island that we visited.
I was surprised by how hot we could get in a canoe. You'd think being on the water would mean you were cooler, but not in Thailand!
Not to mention, I think Nick and I kept the sunscreen business alive and running because of all the sunscreen we slathered on in the 2 weeks we were in Thailand. Haha!
Our next stop was James Bond island also known as Khao Phing Kan island to locals. Part of Golden Gun was filmed here back in the 70s. It has since been totally overrun by tourists.
We snuck past the vendors selling junky trinkets when we first stepped off the boat, and made our way to the lookout as quickly as possible. Our tour guides kept saying to "avoid the Chinese and Russians." Ha!
About 8 of our crew members were there guiding us to where we should take our photos.
They kept the other tourists at bay while they snapped our photos. It was very well done.
The crew members handed us toy guns to reenact the photo from Golden Gun. The other couples from our boat would stand back to back like the old James Bond photo, and then turn around and point the guns at each other for a second photo. Nick and I didn't really like that idea, so we went with a happier gun photo. Haha! We certainly got some laughs from the other tourists.
As we were waiting to board our long-tail boat to get us to our big boat, our tour guide wanted a picture with Nick. Guess he thought he looked like someone famous! :)
I asked one of the crew members to get our photo on this boat mainly because we wanted to get a picture of the boat driver at the back of the boat. We could hardly stop staring at him. He looked so tough and edgy to drive a boat.
Last we were taken to an island with monkeys on the beach. We all swam to shore, including me! The water was so salty I could float, so it was pretty effortless.
I wish I had had my camera on the beach. There were about 40 monkeys running around. They'd try to steal the tourists towels and bags.
At one point, we all got in on some monkey drama. There were 2 big monkeys chasing another smaller monkey. You could tell they weren't happy with the smaller monkey. It went on for about 20 minutes all over the beach, in the trees and on the cliffs.
We also learned that these monkeys like to swim! I stayed in the water about 95% of the time because it felt so good. I also have a healthy respect for monkeys and had no interest in getting close to them.
It was at the end that some of them started going in the water to catch fish and crabs. That was my cue to leave! Back on the boat!
On the ride back, one of the crew members apparently did a magic show. I was asleep for the whole thing! Haha! The motion of the ocean put me right to sleep. :)
Wednesday, December 10th
Nick and I changed rooms at our hotel because our European neighbors were constantly fighting and we could hear all of it.
The second room we moved to smelled like there had been a raging party with dudes in it for a week. Housekeeping tried to get the smell out, but it didn't work. It was awful!
They moved us a third time to a fancy room with a view!
We had these towel swans and flowers to welcome us to paradise! And we had a gift basket waiting for us too! It was so nice.
With the free upgrade in rooms, we were allowed to eat at the club house on the hill. It also had a private swimming pool for special guests! It was SO nice!! That's how you do a babymoon! Nick's squeaky wheel always gets the oil. I'm not complaining. :)
Thursday, December 11th
I signed up for a speed boat tour to Phi Phi islands, but didn't tell them that I was 7.5 months pregnant. Oops.
The van showed up to our hotel again at 6am. We were the last to be picked up, once again. The only remaining seats were in the back. Nick hit the roof. He told the other tourists that I was pregnant and I shouldn't have to sit in the back. Everyone looked at each other for about a few seconds to see who would move. Finally a couple in the front seat moved to the back. Awkward! I really dislike drawing attention to my pregnancy, so I wouldn't have said a word! I was MUCH happier being in the front though! Holy cow what a difference! Once again, even though I don't like confrontation with strangers, I sure appreciate when Nick speaks up for me. :)
We arrived to the SAME dock we had been to on our Phang Nga Bay tour. We waited for the other passengers to arrive while we grabbed some breakfast.
This sweet kitten was sitting on the cashiers desk. She kept pawing at her bottle, so I picked it up to feed her.
If they didn't let me on the boat, I would have sat here all day and played with her.
As we walked to the boat, the owner of the company turned to me and said, "Ohhhhh, that's not a belly full of beer is it?!" I smiled, and said, "no." He was very polite, and told me that they normally don't recommend pregnant woman go on their speed boats. I was just waiting for him to tell me that I couldn't go. He never did! He recommended that I sit at the back of the boat where it was less bumpy.
After the hour-long ride to Phi Phi islands, I have to admit it was much smoother than I could have imagined. The van rides were 100 times bumpier than the boat ride.
We made it to "The Beach." Leonardo DiCaprio made this spot famous in the movie, "The Beach." Luckily, we hadn't watched the movie before we went. We DID watch it when we got back from Thailand, and I would definitely NOT recommend it. It was awful! I don't know if I would have wanted to go to these islands if I had seen the movie ahead of time.
Baby D LOVED swimming there!
Long Tail Boat and Nick on Koh Phi Phi
We rode around to the other side of the island for the group to cliff jump. I volunteered as tribute. Just kidding. Nick was off the boat first, and starting to climb. The guide told him it would be much easier with the shoes they provided, but he was more concerned with getting to the top first.
Nick cut his foot open the first step he took on the rock. Doh! I think that's why they recommended shoes.
The guide tossed him some shoes from the boat, so he could continue to climb.
The first one up and the first one to jump!!
About 10 people from our boat climbed up. One of the funnier moments was when a big guy climbed to the top and then totally froze. He even contemplated climbing down. He had a HUGE crowd watching him. There were about 30 boats around us full of people and we were all cheering him on. After a few minutes, he finally jumped and landed on his back. Ouch! But he did it!
Leaving our cliff jumping spot.
The color of the water was unbelievable!
Riding to our next location on Koh Phi Phi for lunch.
Our lunch was set and ready for us when we arrived. It was warm and delicious!
The two girls across the table were both redheads from Australia. I couldn't believe that there was not just one other redhead on the boat with us, but two!
Our last stop for the day.
Paradise!
Baby bump in Thailand.
While Nick was taking this photo of me, there was a rather large Russian woman rolling around in the sand behind Nick. Her friend was taking photos of her while she was modeling. She must have outweighed me by 100 lbs, but she was SO confident. Made me realize I had nothing to hide too!
Friday, December 11th
While we were waiting for a golf cart to come get us at our room so we could go to the hotel lobby I noticed a little gecko shedding his skin on a leaf right by our feet. He didn't move at all!
The final activity we had planned on Phuket was to visit the Tiger Kingdom.
We had heard that going to see the tigers at Tiger Kingdom was somewhat controversial because people believe they are drugged.
I have seen our cats drugged when we've had to travel with them, and these tigers didn't seem anything like that!
The cubs were sleepy when they weren't playing, but that's pretty normal for babies.
This little guy loved Nick!
I ALMOST went to see the tigers on my own because Nick wasn't feeling well, and he wasn't too excited to pet big cats. Afterward, he decided that he really liked it.
We didn't get in with the adult tigers. Neither one of us had much interest.
Later that afternoon, we scheduled a nice massage for the two of us. It was a great way to end our trip!
Saturday, December 12th
Saturday was our travel day from Thailand. I think both of us were ready to leave by that point. 10 days is the perfect amount of travel. It leaves you wanting more. 2 weeks is just a little too long. I was actually missing being home! Haha!
Our last view of Thailand and our awesome hotel.
We definitely liked our baby moon.
If we did anything different we would likely spend more time on a more secluded island to relax. Patong was about 100 times dirtier than Las Vegas; I wish I had realized that before booking our hotel.
Thailand is definitely beautiful, and hot! Hopefully, next time I visit I won't be pregnant. :)
